I am currently writing an essay on the significance of Martin Luther King's leadership, which must include references to the views of historians. I am finding it easy to find historians like Clayborne Carson and Kevern Verney. However, I am struggling to find any historians or even contemporary academics who view him as a leader. I thought Augustus Meier might be one but his views seem to suggest that MLK was only significant as a connection between the white and black communities.
I have found many articles that refer to the positive views of King's work, such as "The Paradoxes of King Historiography". Unfortunately, I can't find these sources myself.
I am effectively asking for help finding sources but I am also intrigued as to why it so difficult to find examples of the changing interpretations of King, despite so many references to the fact that it has changed.
Have you not read Taylor Branch? Certainly his trilogy would provide what you need. Or Troy Jackson's Becoming King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Making of a National Leader. Just skim the footnotes in these to see what secondary sources are cited to find your materials. David Garrow's “Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Spirit of Leadership,” Journal of American History 74 (September 1987): 438-447 would also work.
You could also simply trace the King historiography via the Journal of American History in Jstor. For example, in 1991 the JAH did an entire issue in MLK in the wake of the plagiarism scandal.